Pueblo City Council honors late council member Ray Aguilera
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) The Pueblo City Council regular session Monday evening began with a moment of silence for the late city council member Ray Aguilera. He was 78.
After the opening prayer, city council members took a moment of silence to honor Aguilera s memory.
Aguilera s health began to decline after he suffered a heart attack in the middle of a work session in January.
At the beginning of May, his family confirmed he was living with his daughter in the Denver area to be more comfortable while receiving hospice care.
During his time as a council member, spanning 14 years, he represented the 4th district and played an active role in the Pueblo community.
A trio of ordinances that would have hired a new city employee in partnership with a national economic empowerment organization failed Monday during the Pueblo City Council meeting on a 3-3 vote, highlighting the new reality of a six-member city council following the death of Ray Aguilera that could result in stalemates and unpassable ties.
The ordinances would have accepted a grant from the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, an organization that works with municipal governments to provide financial literacy education the fundamentals of building credit and how to manage bank accounts effectively. The ordinances would have created a new city employee position with benefits for a CFE fellow.
Ray Aguilera, a longtime Pueblo City Council member and fixture of the Bessemer community, died Sunday morning at age 78, surrounded by his family.
Aguilera was living with his family in Denver under hospice care since early last week. The cause of Aguilera s death is not yet known.
Aguilera served on
Pueblo City Council for more than a decade, first with two consecutive four-year terms starting in 2003 and then again from 2016 until this year. He represented District 4, which encompasses the Bessemer area.
He was devoted to those constituents, and a heroic advocate for Pueblo’s Bessemer neighborhoods, according to a statement from the city announcing his hospice care.
Pueblo council member health declining, according to family
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) A sad update about a longtime Pueblo City Council Member and a familiar face in the Bessemer neighborhood.
According to his family, Ray Aguilera s health is declining. His daughter recently told the city council she moved him to her home in the Denver area to be more comfortable. He is currently receiving hospice care.
On January 25, Aguilera suffered a heart attack in the middle of a work session. According to council members, he left to go to the bathroom and when he returned, he was pale and struggled to get back to the dais. That s when he passed out and was unresponsive for several seconds.
Pueblo council member recovering after heart attack during meeting
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) Pueblo City Council member Ray Aguilera is recovering after a heart attack during a city council meeting back on January 25th. He was hospitalized at Parkview Medical Center following the heart attack.
Aguilera has been a familiar face for the Bessemer neighborhood of Pueblo for his entire life. The 78-year old first served as a city council member in 2003. He is currently in the middle of his fourth and final term as a council member.
In the middle of a work session in late January, council members tell KRDO Aguilera left the dais in city hall to go to the bathroom. When he returned, council member Mark Aliff says Aguilera was pale and struggling to get back to the dais.